Relevance In Health And Fitness Requires Creating A #MOVEMENT

 

It was a long and exciting few weeks. From keynoting at #SIBEC2013 , attending the #GGFA owners conference, speaking at #ANTPLUS2013 , conducting a great webinar with Todd Levine on the New Era of Personal Training and finally working with Gold's Gym International management team, I'm finally at home relaxing in the backyard (here's what that's like if your interested).

There was a common theme that developed with the wide group of leading health and fitness experts and professionals I spent time with. That theme was that technology is transforming business. But really its more than just that. The transformation that informed customers, a interconnected world and technology enablers has created requires us to all rethink our organizations and businesses with a bigger view if we are to remain relevant and have a meaningful impact on people's lives. While technology is a big part of this transformation in the end its really an enabler for achieving greater purpose and connections with customers and transforming how we do things. What does that mean ? I propose that the future is here now and the current transformation underway requires we become part of a movement that reflects a different way of thinking.

Check out this recent video from @BrianSolis with @simonmainwaring, author of We First, How Brands And Consumers Use Social Media To Build A Better World, shown below as they discuss the True Meaning of a Social Business. As I explained at ANT+ Symposium and at SIBEC2013 , our industry needs to be more about a MOVEMENT and less about business. We need to rethink our views. Technology can enable that but its more about changing the stuff between our ears that is required to make it happen. What do you think ? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

About the author:

Bryan O’Rourke is considered by many as one of the most prolific thought leaders on technology, health club and wellness trends. He has been quoted in periodicals like the Wall Street Journal, and has been published in journals around the world on his views of how technology will create the dawn of a new era of opportunity for the health club and fitness industries. In addition to being an industry expert, Bryan is a technologist, financier, shareholder and executive in several fitness companies. He has spoken on a range of business and trend topics on four continents. As a contract executive and advisor, Bryan wears many hats, including working for Fitmarc, which delivers Les Mills programs to over 700 facilities in the US. He advises successful global brands, serves as a member of the GGFA Think Tank, on ACE's Industry Advisory Panel and is CEO of the Fitness Industry Technology Council. To join FIT-C visit www.fit-c.org . To learn more contact Bryan here today .

Technology Is Changing Consumer Behavior And The Health Club Business Will Feel The Impact Soon

I recently watched a Brian Solis video interview featuring Jon Swartz, a reporter based in Silicon Valley who covers emerging and disruptive technology trends for USA today (see the interview below). It was quite interesting and made me realize how very much is really changing for consumers and what it means in particular for the health club and fitness industry.

Jon sees trends as less about hype and more about how technology is really changing everyday business and society. I agree. For consumers, using mobile, social and the web is not only enlivening experiences, it’s also creating a real sense of immediacy. Its increasing consumer expectations. In my recent trend report on NEWISM FASTER is identified one of NEWISM's 6 drivers . Indeed everything is FASTER and as Jon points out its going to become even more so. Solis and Swartz termed it the "Urgency of Now". No matter what you term it, Faster or the Urgency of Now, it will result in increasing change and the need for massive innovation in the health club business. How you ask ?

It means providing consumers the ability to buy training or group fitness classes instantly using mobile devices. It means the erosion of the classic "membership" recurring revenue model for many club concepts. It means the disappearance of the front desk for many health club concepts and it means a lot of things we can't quite predict right now. More than anything it means CHANGE and a lot of it.

The interview is fascinating and a great short piece you should watch. Brian Solis describes the discussion as follows:

Jon and I explore the importance of “the urgency of now” and how its changing the landscape for commerce. From shopping to how we pay for what we want, and the technology that changes customer expectations along the way, businesses must now evaluate how to adapt to not only react but lead customer experiences before they fall to digital darwinism.

Brian is right, You will not want to miss it. How are you preparing for the sea change that technology is bringing to the fitness and health club business ? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

About the author:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, and shareholder and executive in several fitness companies. He advises several successful global brands, serves as a member of the GGFA Think Tank and serves as CEO of the Fitness Industry Technology Council. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

Is Innovation Missing Its Purpose ? Often The Answer Is Yes; Health Clubs Should Take Note

I've referenced Brian Solis before. During a recent interview with (famous in tech circles) Jesse James Garrett (below) he explores the notion of innovation and user (aka customer) experience. Garrett is a thought leader in the emerging world of user experience (UX) and wrote the book The Elements of User Experience (check it out). Leaders in the health club and fitness industries should take heed. Here are some exerpts (paraphrased):

Innovation often comes from Gorilla Movements in organizaitons that bubble up to people at the top.....Is Innovation missing its purpose ? Quite often it is....People that are really good at user experience and innovation are good at distinguishing "Innovation" from "Novelty".

Its very hard for leaders to see what is coming, given the rate of change today. So I thought the Solis interview came at the perfect time, following my read of the @IHRSA Club Business International , article Fresh Face of Fitness. In that article my friend and colleauge Rasmus Ingerslev, CEO of Wexer and Health Club chain Fresh Fitness was deservedly featured. Here's a slice of the article on Rasmus Ingerslev:

Just as in any other industry, ours keeps evolving faster and faster. In the process, competition is intensifying. As a result, there will likely be even more segmentation, which will create clear value propositions in the niche, low-, mid- and high-end markets. On the positive side, I believe this will help attract more members, growing the overall market. My concern is that we’ll see bubbles in segments that grow too fast, specifically the low-cost sector, and collapses in the middle-market. The latter may be the toughest position, as it’s at risk of being viewed as neither fowl nor fish. But, as in any industry, there will always be room for best-in-class.

In a business where many leaders are still focusing on differentiation in simple ways, more forward thinking pros like Rasmus are combing new delivery methods and customer service models that are completely different (live group classes and digitally deliivered classes are an example). I think what Rasmus says is very on target. His vision reflects what its going to take to achieve success in the fitness and health club industry in the years ahead. Deeply understanding customers and their emerging needs are critical to success in the future. Unfortunately many in the business think novelty is innovation and they will soon discover how wrong they were to do so. This is particularly true when it comes to blending bricks and mortar and digital technology solutions as Rasmus has.

Watch the interview below with Brian Solis and Jessse James Garrett as they discuss UX. Congrats to my friend Rasmus Ingerslev for his success and vision. What do you think about Fresh Fitness and Wexer ? Do you see this type of innovation as more than a novelty ? How do you think leading brands could improve UX ? Please share your views with me, Bryan O'Rourke. Thanks for your thoughts.

About the author:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, shareholder and executive in several fitness companies. He consults with global brands, serves as a member of the GGFA Think Tank, is Chair of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee, is President of the Fitness Industry Technology Council and a partner in Fitmarc, Integerus, Fitsomo and the Flywheel Group. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

The Health Club Industry & Our Digital Culture - 2040

I'm always thinking about technology and the future, particularly as it relates to the health club and fitness industries. In light of this I was watching the latest Brian Solis interview (included below); this time of John Battelle. John's upcoming book, What We Hath Wrought, is titled based on the first words sent over American telegraph wires by Samuel Morse in May of 1844. Upon opening an experimental telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington, Morse decided to send a Biblical quote: "What Hath God Wrought." (a tweetable phrase no less). Morse, an artist by trade, was attempting to describe, in as few words as possible, the huge potential and magnitude of the moment. If he only knew, it opened a new world of communication. Fast forward to today and the questions that I ask, that John Battelle and Brian Solis asks is this: what is really happening with technology today ? What is the good and bad in our culture, businesses and lives that technology has brought ? More importantly, what is going to happen in the future as a result ? From semantic search to the potential for multiple online personalities and more, the questions are interesting, profound and I suggest you watch the exchanges between these two intellectuals as they explore the next 29 years.

Tell me, Bryan O'Rourke, what do you think about technology, its implications to the health club and fitness industries and what do you think will come of it ? Our future will be vastly different from today and our past. Don't you agree ?

About the author Bryan O’Rourke:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, shareholder and executive in several fitness and health club business service companies. He is also a partner in The Health Club For Women and Chairman of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

The End Or A New Beginning For The Health Club Industry ? Whether Its Good Or Bad All Depends On How You Look At It

"Change" the term is now cliche. I've touched on the topic of radical change in the fitness and health club industry since 2008, over 3 years actually. My recent post about "Digital Darwinism" and its implications to the health club and fitness business, calls for people to take notice as to what is really going on. Brian Solis , whom I credit with defining the term "Digital Darwinism", defines it as "the evolution of consumer behavior when society and technology evolve faster than our ability to adapt."

Imagine this: At the current rate, over 70% of all Fortune 1000 companies in existence in 2003 will be gone by 2013. This according to Forbes Magazine. Do you think health club or fitness businesses will experience less turnover ? I don't.

So what does Digital Darwinism really mean ? Its survival of the fittest. If you follow technology closely, you'll admit that the degree of advancing technological change is unprecedented and nearly unimaginable. As this technology creeps into our lives and consumers begin to use it, fundamental behaviors start to change and that's when disruption takes hold. I won't even touch upon changes being brought on by globalism or shifting demographics. My hypothesis is that how people manage their health, and how they engage in fitness is shifting at a rate that is largely going unnoticed. Who will survive when many organizations wake up to late to react to this change ? Think I'm being overly dramatic ? I don't. Watch the video from Brian Solis below. How consumers ultimately manage their health and fitness is going through a seminal change just as it has in other industries. Are you prepared for the implications ? The end is rapidly approaching for many in the fitness and health club business but a new beginning is also emerging for others especially those that can adapt. Whether its good or bad depends on how you look at it. Tell me Bryan O'Rourke, do you think the health club and fitness industries are going through disruptive change and how ?

About the author Bryan O’Rourke:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, shareholder and executive in several fitness and health club business service companies. He is also a partner in The Health Club For Women and Chairman of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee. To learn more contact Bryan here today .